CPEC: How Pakistan can take full benefit from CPEC?
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LAHORE: (APP) China-Pak Economic Corridor is an opportunity of bringing Pakistan into global economic mainstream for which formulation of Industrial Policy is need of the hour.
Without proper industrial policy and system reforms Pakistan will only play role of trading hub for Chinese products.
These were the views of Dr. Safdar A. Sohail Executive Director Excellence Center China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Joint Director PIDE during a CPEC awareness session arranged at Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Regional Office on Tuesday.
Dr. Safdar A. Sohail delivered a detailed presentation on CPEC which highlighted various opportunities, structural bottlenecks and inappropriate utilization of CPEC. He further said, China is a time-tested friend of Pakistan. We could not restrict commercial presence of Chinese here. Proper enforcement and implementation of
CPEC is our responsibility while government and military establishment role in this regards in highly significant.
FPCCI Regional Chairman and Vice President Mian Rehman Aziz said the business community wanted early completion of game changer project of the CPEC so that Pakistan could enjoy the fruit of massive Chinese investment. He said that business community of Pakistan was poised to offer allout cooperation to the Chinese companies involved in the CPEC projects.
Mian Rehman Aziz said that masses and business community both were looking forward to this project, while the government had assured full security to the Chinese staff working on it. He said that FPCCI would play its role in creating synergies between Chinese and local companies for which all the chambers of commerce would be taken on board.
On the occasion, SAARC Chamber Vice President Iftikhar Ali Malik said that it was a great opportunity for Pakistan which should be fully utilized as it was meant to provide economic advantage, a land route to China and integration with different nations.
"The total funding offered by China to Pakistan under the CPEC is USD 46 billion of which USD 34.4 billion has been allocated for the energy sector to add over 17000 MW to the national grid, while USD 9.8 billion will be made available for transport related projects and USD 0.8 billion for Gwadar Port," he explained.
He said that Pakistanis had the most favorable view of China and maintaining close relations with China was a central part of Pakistan's foreign policy. "China has supported Pakistan through thick and thin, and its support has always remained without strings," he concluded.
